HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) — Acknowledging that they have an uphill battle, several Democratic members of the Pennsylvania House today introduced a package of gun safety bills, including a measure to ban assault weapons.

State Rep. Dan Frankel, of Allegheny County, said he’s encouraged by conversations he’s had with other lawmakers about their willingness to consider gun measures, including a ban on semi-automatic weapons that mimic fully automatic guns.

Meanwhile, state representative Ronald Waters of Philadelphia (at lectern in photo) insists that he and his colleagues do not want to end gun ownership. Waters says he understands that in a rural area a homeowner may not have time to wait for police to arrive to deal with an intruder.

“They don’t need to call 9-1-1,” Waters said today. “They need to get their hands on 3-5-7 (caliber) — we understand that.”

But one of the measures in the package of gun bills would roll back a recently enacted “stand your ground” law expanding the criteria for using deadly force when a person feels threatened.

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Tony Romeo is Harrisburg bureau chief for KYW Newsradio 1060.
Born and raised in the Harrisburg area, Romeo began his professional career at age 18, while in college at Penn State Harrisburg. He was still a college student when ...